Avengers - Stark
by FireEmblemLover39
Summary: Tony's side of my other work: Avengers - Assassins. While Clint and Natasha are eluding S.H.I.E.L.D, Tony is dealing with his own school life and hidden identity. He must come to terms with his feelings about Captain America all the while trying to get Jarvis into Hogwarts. This one will be a little bit more angsty than it's partner story.
1. Chapter 1

**Year 1**

 **Side: Tony Stark**

 **Second story, companion to Avengers - assassins.**

 **Note: I may unconciously refer to Tony as 'Stark' as I am a fan of Coyote Stark from Bleach. I also usually use Tony when I'm using Dante's alias of Tony Redgrave in the Devil May Cry series. (Yes that's real. In the manga and the anime. Also engraved on his guns Ebony and Ivory.)**

Deep in the sea, a young boy of eleven was overlooking a research project. The research was to see if there was a way to utilize the temperature itself to make technology and magic mingle, hence why it was in the Artic. As for why it was underwater, well the boy secretly had another project, one that he wouldn't even admit to himself that he had. That's all the available info at the moment. The boy had black hair and brown eyes with a zipped up red and gold jacket and black pants. Now I know what you're thinking: Why was a boy overlooking such an impossible project? The anwer: The boy was none other than Tony Stark, future head of Stark Industries, as soon as he got old enough. Stark Industries was a corporation that produced everything from air conditioners to snake fangs, depending on the nature of the buyer. In other words: Stark was a wizard with an unmatched passion for muggles. In fact, half of the employees were either muggleborn or squibs, the other half were either relatives of muggleborns or muggles that were completely oblivious to their coworkers' knowledge with the occaisional half blood. Though there was one redhaired accountant Tony suspected had magical heritage at some point.

"Jarvis, perform another scan." Tony called out to the submarine.

"Yer sir." Came an automated response from the AI known as Jarvis. Tony had built Jarvis years ago, when he realized he would never get his father's attention and others only wanted his money. He had needed a friend and turned to his natural habitat: His lab.

"Sir, it would seem there is a penguin cicling the sub. Shall I let it in?" The AI asked with a little bit of sass. How Tony built a sassy AI was anyone's guess, but he liked it and made sure to memorize the code to recreate Jarvis if something happened.

"Thats a new one. Let it in." Tony said as he looked at the holographic scanners. A red blip circling the sub indicated the penguin's path, while several other blips indicated his research crew at their various tasks. A faintly flashing blip caught his attention soon after. "And send someone to investigate that. Have them bring back whatever they find."

"Yes sir."

"Quack quack." Tony turned to see a penguin waddling up to him with a letter in it's beak.

"If that penguin smiles and waves we are so out of here." Tony said to a nearby crew member, who just rolled his eyes, before taking the magically dried letter.

'Mr. T Stark'

'The submarine under the Arctic'

Tony couldn't hold back a chuckle at how ridiculous his current address was when put on paper. Definitely the work of a wizard, but witch one? (See what I did there?) Flipping the envelope revealed a crest of a lion, a snake, a badger, and a raven. A Hogwarts letter? Why not one closer to home, say somewhere in America?

'We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your father had all the necessary paperwork done to make sure his heir could get the best education offered, you will find enclosed a list of the necessary school supplies. We expect your owl by July 1.

Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonnagal

PS. I am aware of your reputation and ask that you not blow up the school.'

Tony frowned at the letter, ignoring the last bit for the moment, though he'd probably laugh at it later. His main concern right now was that Howard hadn't even asked him his choice in the matter, hadn't even told him he'd done it. Not that he didn't want to go to the most prestigous school in the world or anything, it was the princible of it that bothered him. Why did that asshole control his life without even being there? It wasn't fair!

"Sir, the investigation team has returned. They request you come to the medical room." Jarvis said quietly, aware of Tony's feelings about Howard Stark. Tony folded the letter and tucked it in his jacket before starting to walk away.

"Thanks Jarvis. Have someone give Skipper over there some sushi or something." He said as he pointed back to the patiently waiting penguin...that began waving at his back. "Keep an eye on it too." Tony added, feeling the wave. He could have sworn he heard the penguin snicker as the door closed behind him. Stupid, flightless bird.

Making his way to the medical room, Tony took one look at the scene and frowned slightly before covering it up with a practiced smile. He had thought they wanted him in here because they had hurt themselves or something, not because they had found a suspiciously human sized block of ice. A suspiciously human sized block of ice that had a round shield painted in red, white, and blue near the outside, just close enough to be seen. He played dumb.

"What have we got?" He asked one of the giddy crew members, a girl of around twenty with brown hair and blue eyes dressed in diving gear.

"Its-It's EEEK! WE FOUND CAPTAIN AMERICA!" She shouted, completely amazed about her discovery. One of the other workers, a brown haired man of similar age, put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"I thought I told you Mr. Stark might not be so excited." He winced at his friend. Tony's practiced smile came easily as he began acting as if for the press - as if he was himself but in a good light.

"It's cool. Howard would be thrilled about this find. Let's begin thawing him, I'll call in some experts." He rambled slightly with a few hand gestures to sell it out. No one seemed to realize it was an act as he left. Captain America...why did he have to find him? It's wasn't like he hated the guy or anything, well maybe a little, but he was actually a fan. He just didn't like to deal with his emotions and buried them behind one project after another, thus he never quite sorted out how he felt about the guy.

"Sir, shall I contact S.H.I.E.L.D?" Jarvis asked quietly, offering his support to Tony's plight in the only way he could.

"S.H.I.E.L.D isn't real yet Jarvis. Contact Phil." Tony said with a smirk. If there was one person who could get him to safely be in a room with Rogers, it was Phil. Tony knew he was a total fanboy over the captain, but he also knew the guy was capable of containing that side of himself when necessary. He appreciated that Phil always did that when Tony was around.

"Yes sir." Jarvis said as Tony went to his office to give the message to the future agent. He actually _was_ looking forward to seeing the look on the usually composed boy's face. It was scary how agent-like he already was at times. Sitting down, Tony swiped up a holo projector from his phone to talk face to face. After a few seconds, Phil answered.

"Is something the matter Tony?" The fellow eleven year old asked pleasantly. Tony thought he saw a book of some kind in the foreground.

"Yes actually. I've got Captain America on my sub." He said with a smirk. There was a full minute of silence in which Phil's face twitched a little bit as if trying to contain an expression before the boy's eyes widened comically. Tony almost snickered at the boy as he tried, and failed, to keep his composure. It was then that Maria Hill, a twelve year old girl with black hair and blue eyes who was also too agent like to be considered normal, came to his rescue.

"Are you sure Mr. Stark?" She asked as she came on screan.

"Positive. Why would I not be?" He asked as he adopted a hurt expression. Phil cleared his throught and straightened his already straight jacket before speaking.

"Where are you at Mr. Stark?" He asked, back to his proffessionalism.

"Just a few miles under the Arctic. I'll have my team head back to Stark Tower so you guys can pick him up." Tony said as he spotted a bag of blueberries on his desk and popped one in his mouth, suddenly realizing he had forgot to eat anything sence last night.

"We'll meet you there." Phil said, as the screen turned off Tony saw him pull some trading cards out of his jacket. He chuckled slightly, good old Phil. At that moment, a juicy looking burger in a Mcdonald's wrapping appeared in the chute. Good old Jarvis too.

"I assume when you get to the lab you are going to lock yourself in for a few days sir?" The AI asked/stated in a dry tone. He _really_ liked Jarvis, by far his best creation if you asked him.

It took only a couple of hours to get back to Stark Tower, and by then Phil had already been waiting in the lounge for apparently thirty minutes. There was also a dark skinned boy of thirteen playing a game of chess with him, Nick Fury the boy who was going to be S.H.I.E.L.D's director and founder one day. These two were the only ones Tony trusted with _anything_ after Obadiah's betrayal. That's why he went to them rather than the aurors when he found the Capsicle. Phil was the one who had helped him after he became Iron Man, and introduced him to the idea of S.H.I.E.L.D when Fury had thought of it about a month later. In a way, Tony supposed he should be proud: It was because of what happened to _him_ that Fury had decided such a thing was needed, and not just an idea for a child to fantasize about. Him and Captain America. A part of Tony was smug, Howard had said, many times, that he'd never be on the captain's level yet, in a way, he was now. Take that Howard.

Tony was broken out of his thoughts by his men carrying said Capsicle in, something Phil noticed as he nearly jumped out of his seat in excitement. Fury chuckled slightly at his friends eagerness, yet consideration of others' feelings.

"Quite ironic that it would be a Stark that finds him." Fury said as he got up to observe the frozen boy, Phil hot on his heals.

"That's an understatement. Hey, you go to Hogwarts right?" Tony asked, not wanting to talk about Rogers at the moment. Fury seemed to read his mood as he allowed it.

"I just got my acceptance into third year a few minutes ago. Why?" He asked. Tony smirked as he withdrew the letter from the sweater he had changed into when the temperature got warmer.

"Turns out Howard had requested I go there." He said with a grimace. Fury's expression was unreadable as he seemed to think something over, while Phil started containing his excitement over Steve a little better at the statement.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll be there too. I got my invite yesterday." The boy said professionally, aware that pity sometimes set Tony off. It was something said genius was thankful for.

"Actually, that does. Get this, they asked me to not blow up the school! Who bothers to ask me that stuff anymore?" Tony asked in attempt to lighten the mood and get his mind off his father for at least a few more seconds.

"Try to limit it to your common room at least." Fury said with humor before getting serious, "Will the arc reactor work there?"

"It should. I've had a muggleborn that works under me take one to her old school, it worked. My guess is because it uses technology designed to imitate magic to a degree. It probably uses the arc energy to convert the magic into the air into a more sustainable source for it, perhaps even making it a little more powerful. Maybe the electro generator connecting to the gamma conductor that causes it to work in the first place also generates magic, or maybe those are one and the same, not sure, I'm not a gamma expert like Doctor Banner." He said, he hadn't exactly been thinking about magic when he was a prisoner in Afghanistan that was dying from shrapnel in the heart. Phil had that expression he had when he just barely followed something he said while Fury didn't even seem to be attempting to follow him. Tony almost sighed, would have if not used to dealing with both muggle and magical press (He'd dodged Rita Skeeter multiple times in the past), as much as he liked these two, he couldn't actually _talk_ to them about the things he liked. It severely limited his casual conversations with them and sometimes got in the way of S.H.I.E.L.D talk.

"At any rate, we'll take the captain off your hands. I'll ask the headmaster to help things in the ministry so that none of us get in trouble for not reporting him right away." Fury said after a moment. Tony nodded, thankful that he wouldn't have to keep him in the tower.

When the two left, Tony went down to the lab to work on a possible base for S.H.I.E.L.D when they came together. It would be three days before he came up again near starved and remember about his letter that he had yet to respond to. It would be three more days before he accepted it.

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?" The cashier at his potions department asked. Tony nodded once before taking the supplies. He could get everything but some of the books from his tower, so that's what he was doing. He'd order the books when he was finished getting the rest in order. Unfortunately for him, Jarvis couldn't help him with the magical side of the world until he was able to get the formula to get technology to work with magic. The arc reactor was an exception, but he wouldn't release arc technology so terrorists could get their hands on it and use it to kill, though some like Voldemort would probably not even see how dangerous it could be because of his prejudice against muggles, something Tony would never understand. There were, however, other magical terrorists out there that he would just be giving weapons if he did that, assuming they studied it and learned how to convert it into one anyway. Plus the electro magnet it doubled as would get in the way.

Tony's shopping trip was rather uneventful, and he wasn't surprised to see his acceptance into Hogwarts in the Daily Prophet later that day, though he did take note that he'd be attending with Harry Potter. All in all, the most interesting thing to happen was Captain America regaining consciousness, as he heard from Phil a couple days later. That was on the front page of the Daily Prophet too. Those people were having a field day.

Tony went home that day deciding to finish his MIT classes before he went off to school, meaning he was at the computer for a few days. Two days later, he was an official MIT graduate (He'd been doing this for a while). Three days later, he received his diploma. Four days later had a suspiciously absent Tony while reporters crowded around the tower. One week later he was at King's Cross.


	2. Chapter 2

**So...I'm back. I'm also not sure where to fit Thor and Loki into this, so I will take suggestions. In case you haven't read the assassins' side of this, here's a character list. (this will be from Tony's perspective so it will differ from Hawkeye's)**

 **Characters**

 **Tony Stark: Son of Howard Stark who probably surpassed his father's genius, or has potential to anyway, kidnapped at a young age where he became Iron Man to escape though he hasn't gone too deep in the Iron Man persona yet. Plans to fund S.H.I.E.L.D.**

 **Steve Rogers: Child soldier who was frozen for seventy years, confused in the modern day and sometimes gravitates to Tony as the latter is a link to his past. Agrees with S.H.I.E.L.D and is concidering joining when it's founded.**

 **Bruce Banner: A tempermental boy with intellect on Tony's level. Widely feared for his temper and respects Tony for treating him like any other person. The two are trying to make magic and technology mix. Considering being a researcher for S.H.I.E.L.D.**

 **Nick Fury: A boy who took pity on Tony's plight and decided that the world needed an organization to keep a close eye on things to stop such things from happening again and save the victims if it does anyway. Also inspired by Captain America. He believes that if people like Steve and Tony are around, then the world could be saved.**

 **Maria Hill: Fury's right hand 'man'. She is fiercely loyal to Nick and spares little time for jokes when doing favors for him. In her free time she is actually a fun person to be around.**

 **Phil Coulson: A supporter of the idea of S.H.I.E.L.D and currently a recruiter. His current goals are to find the elusive Hawkeye and Black Widow, believing they still have a chance to be saved. Not so secret fan boy over Captain America.**

 **Clint Barton: A sarcastic boy with sharp ears. Enjoys bantering with Tony and hopelessly in love with Natasha Ramonaff. If caught in the right mood, he could be highly mischievous. Not much is known about him otherwise.**

 **Natasha Ramonaff: A girl whom Clint is deeply infatuated with. That's all that's known about her.**

 **Thor?**

 **Loki?**

Tony brushed his shirt off after using the floo network to get directly to platform 9 3/4. The boy knew if he had taken the non magical way, which he preferred, he would have attracted _far_ too much attention to get on the platform. One of the few downsides to being famous in both worlds. As it was, he was receiving a lot of awed stares from muggleborns and purebloods alike.

Tony winked at a few girls as he easily passed the crowd onto the train. It didn't take him long to find an empty compartment, wanting to be alone for the time being. Contrary to popular belief, Tony preferred to be alone a lot. That's why he so commonly locked himself in his lab while he worked. Though he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't too absorbed in his work to notice the time often. That would be a bummer, one that he couldn't do that while at school, and two because he wouldn't have Jarvis to remind him of the time...and monitor his work...and just be there for him.

Jarvis had been his first friend, and his only friend for years. Sure there was Rhodey, but he was a muggle, Tony couldn't talk to him without risking breaking the statute of secrecy, so that had severely limited their friendship. The stupid statute had ruined a lot for him, because for him the possibility of accidentally breaking it was very high. His habit of rambling about random things made sure of that. To this day Jarvis was still his best friend. The AI had assured Tony that he'd be waiting patiently for his return, but what else could he do? It wasn't like magic and technology mixed yet. Bringing Jarvis here would just break him - literally. It wasn't long before the door opened.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there. I'll go somewhere else." The boy at the door said before making to leave.

"No, it's cool." Tony said quickly. If this boy didn't recognize him on sight then...

"Are you sure? You looked pretty deep in thought there." The boy said nervously. Tony nodded eagerly.

"Yes. I'm sure, now get in here." He said hurriedly as he gestured inside. The other boy sighed lightly before complying. As Tony hadn't been strong enough to put his heavy suitcase up, he had it on the ground between the seats, and it was soon joined by the other boy's.

"Thanks. I'm Bruce by the way. Bruce Banner." The boy said as he took off his glasses to rub his eyes. Tony couldn't help but smirk at the worry the boy must be feeling, he was famous in his own right after all. At least among engineers and scientists.

"Tony Stark, though did we really need to introduce ourselves?" He asked, causing Bruce to laugh somewhat.

"I guess you're right. I just thought you'd like a normal introduction at some point in your life." He said with a small smile as he produced a notepad from his suitcase. Tony's eyes lit up when he caught site of what it contained.

"Is that research on possible ways to make magic and technology work together?" He asked excitedly as he read the headline. Bruce smiled.

"Yeah. I was thinking gamma radiation could produce some result. As you know I've been studying it for some time. What you don't know is that I've found that it _does_ have a small effect on technology." The fellow scientist said softly.

"Speaking of research, I had no idea you were a wizard. Are you muggleborn?" Tony asked suddenly. Bruce looked up with a confused expression.

"I'll take that as a yes. A muggleborn is a wizard with non-magical parents. I'm actually a pure blood, the Starks have had the best of both worlds for generations and -" A small laugh cut him off.

"Do you always ramble?" Bruce asked after getting his laughter under control. Tony gave a small pout.

"What's wrong with rambling?" He caught site of one of the notes, "Have you tried a little rewiring? Perhaps if you moved the generator directly to the gamma radiator-"

"That would cause an explosion. I did already try that." Tony pouted again at being cut off, before brightening up when he realized Banner had actually _understood_ what he was saying.

"Finally, someone that speaks English.*" Both scientists laughed at that before they began comparing notes, and so the train ride went. By the time they arrived at the castle, the two had something planned out for their experiments. Oh, and they had agreed to work together.

* * *

They stuck together as they followed their giant guide, Tony making a theory on his probable parentage, to the castle. Tony noticed Steve at the front, likely from his training to protect his men. A part of him honestly felt safer with the captain protecting him, but it was drowned out by annoyance of the boy who took up so much of his father's attention. His face must have darkened as Bruce put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but didn't say anything. Tony brushed him off with a simple 'm'kay'.

It was mere minutes before they got their first sight of the castle, something Tony found himself slightly impressed with. It seemed like candyland for research! The lit towers seemed inviting as well, but...

"Not bad, but it could use a modern touch." He couldn't help saying aloud. Bruce just shook his head as Tony seemed to break the spell over everyone, earning a smirk from the other even as he thought about where they should do their experiments. Muggleborns and purebloods alike now seemed torn between gawking at Tony and the castle. To his...he didn't know what he felt, Steve also gave him a few glances as if he didn't know what to do. Their choice was made for them when they approached a fleet of boats and where instructed to get in by fours. Tony and Bruce where accompanied by a mousy girl and a pale boy who highly resembled Harry Potter. Looking around, Tony found Phil with a couple of blondes with blue eyes (the main difference being height and facial features) and a redhead with green eyes. Why couldn't the future agent be with him? The more traumatized part of Tony immediately jumped to the conclusion that Phil had betrayed him while the logical part thought that this was probably the other's way of urging him to make friends.

He didn't think about it in favor of revising his project ideas.

After landing on shore and finding a toad, some kid had happily grabbed it, they continued on foot to the castle. These cliffs were no less rocky than the other ones, meaning he would have stumbled on them if it wasn't for his experience in Aghiana stand (no matter what he did, that stayed clear in his mind). As it was, he had to catch Bruce a few times, on the third time he was sure the other had felt his arc reactor, much to his horror. He absently followed McGonogall as his mind raced to find an excuse the other scientist would believe. Bruce luckily, or unluckily he wasn't sure which, was doing a damn good job of pretending nothing had happened.

When they entered the great hall, the ceiling proved to be enough to tear his thoughts away from their morbid path as he could only stare in awe at the enchanted ceiling. _That_ didn't need to change, aside from putting Jarvis up there.

"Abbot, Hannah." McGonnogall's call for the sorting got his attention back on track.

"Hufflepuff."

"Banner, Bruce." Bruce jumped slightly, seemingly cursing his last name, before Tony gave him a small shove and a smile. That seemed to encourage the boy as he shuffled up.

"Ravenclaw." Tony joined the others in applauding his friend, anticipating he'd be joining him later.

"Barton, Clint." The smaller blonde that had been with Phil nervously approached next. He didn't seem like he liked crowds. Tony instantly decided he could be a friend. It took a full ten minutes before he was sorted into Hufflepuff. Strange, Tony had read that hatstalls, as they had been dubbed, usually went into one of the other three houses. That boy must have been a seriously hard worker. Or seriously loyal. One of the two.

"Coulson, Phil." Tony tuned back in instantly, eager to see if Phil was going to be in Ravenclaw with him. Tony honestly wondered if there was anything he _couldn't_ do after all. Phil only took five minutes before -

"Hufflepuff." His friend moved to sit beside the Barton boy. Tony grudgingly, yet genuinely, applauded the boy. His loyalty to his ideals must have been stronger than his intellect.

"Potter, Harry." Tony tuned back into the sorting. Harry Potter, huh? This could be interesting. Harry took almost as long as Barton, causing Tony to get a little impatient.

"Gryffindor." The hat shouted eventually. The whole hall burst into chears as Gryffindor was beyond excited to have the-boy-who-lived.

"That's enough!" A magically amplified voice shouted, confusing everyone as they looked at the source: Dumbledore. What was going on?

"Do keep in mind that some people have sharp ears." The headmaster said as he gestured toward the Hufflepuff table. Tony looked over there to see the Barton boy with his hands hovering slightly over his ears, as if in pain. Oh. The sorting continued after that with a Natasha Ramonaff (Tony noticed she had been the girl with Phil) who went to Slytherin, then the Capsicle. Tony frowned when he realized he'd be immediately after him, once more in his shadow, probably not to be noticed.

"Gryffindor." Said table burst into even louder cheer than before as Tony barely heard his name over the commotion and began making his way up. So it was as he had expected, America's golden boy was enough to keep the attention off of him once again.

"QUIET!" Both the headmaster and a fourth year Hufflepuff seemed to say at the same time. Tony blinked for a moment before remembering: Barton! Quickly turning, he saw the boy had his hands over his ears again with a horrified expression while Phil seemed to be asking a question.

"Stark, Anthony." McGonnogall repeated. With a jolt, Tony continued his way up.

"Just Tony." He said before sitting down. Just before the hat was placed on his head however,

"Can we get Madam Pomfrey here?" The fourth year Hufflepuff asked. Tony frowned once again as the headmaster got up.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked amiably.

"I think he went deaf." Phil frowned. Tony almost jerked at that as Dumbledore performed a diagnostic spell and announced that it would be temporary. He sent the boy to the hospital wing for a second opinion however. Tony was surprised when the Slytherin Girl, Natasha Ramonaff he thought, insisted she go with him. Something about a jumpy Clint not being pleasant. Then he felt pity. He clearly wasn't the only one Steve had a negative effect on.

"Can I be sorted now?" He asked after a moment to break the grim silence and unsure of how to handle what he was feeling. His voice, once more, seemed to shatter the spell that had settled over everyone as he was _finally_ sorted.

' _Hmm. Such a genius mind. In the past, Ravenclaw would be an immediate answer, but now...you're trying to repent? Yes, very Gryiffindor of you. Though you seem to not want to_ show _your courage. Let's see, it would be cruel to separate you from your friends with that kind of trauma, almost like Barton. Though you have a friend in every house it seems. Where to put you?'_ The hat whispered into his ear.

 _'Ravenclaw please. I'd like to work with Doctor Banner.'_

 _'Ah, I see. Try not to blow everything up in -'_

"Ravenclaw." The hat said aloud. Tony smirked as he made his way to his new house table, making eye contact with Hill as he passed her at the Gryffindor table. The girl gave a slight nod before turning back to her second year friends. Tony sat next to Bruce as the sorting continued. He frowned when he realized he hadn't been noticed after all in the commotion: Bruce seemed to be trying to hear past his own probably ringing ears while others were either looking at the entrance or the Gryffindor table, much like the other houses.

As the feast was in progress, Tony found his mind wandering to that Barton kid. Was he going to be ok? Maybe he should add medicinal departments to Stark Industries when he finally took over. Officially anyway, he was already unofficially in charge. That _was_ the one thing that wasn't covered after all. Maybe he could find some magical means to remove the shrapnel from his chest? It was too dangerous to attempt muggle methods, and he'd die within minutes if he removed the arc reactor, so he'd have to get something else to hold the shrapnel in place while the procedure was done. Vanishing it would risk vanishing his heart it was so close, so that was out of the question. He absently rubbed said arc reactor as he thought over the theories, not noticing Bruce's intense stare. Nor did he notice Fury eyeing him from the Slytherin table. (He still didn't know where that guy really belonged. A part of him doubted the professors did with his reputation.)

"Everything ok Tony?" Said genius suddenly looked up to see Phil sitting across from him as if he belonged there, casually eating some lettuce.

"Yeah. It's fine." He said vaguely, "Where were you by the way? Didn't see you until you were sorted."

"I was with Barton on the boats. We must have just missed each other." The other boy said with a certain look in his eye that caused Tony to not believe him. "I see you made a friend?"

"Son of a bitch. That was your plan all along." Tony said when everything pieced together in his mind, "You sure the hat didn't say 'Slytherin'?" He asked, surprising Bruce who recoiled slightly. Phil just smirked.

"Perhaps." He said vaguely before turning his attention to Bruce. "Phil Coulson. I'm a friend of Tony's."

"Bruce Banner, pleasure to meet you." The nervous scientist said as he wrung his hands slightly. The Hufflepuff just nodded.

"Likewise." If Bruce was unnerved by Phil's agent-like demeanor, he didn't show it. Tony found himself silently swearing Phil was _made_ to be an agent once again.

Classes, Tony found, were mostly boring. He'd had magical tutors his whole life, and they had all agreed that while science would always be his top subject, he wasn't too shabby with magic either. He was at the top of most classes, Bruce being right behind him, sometimes passing him, while some Hermione girl seemed to be in third. By the end of the day, he was bored out of his mind. The only upside was that Bruce hadn't questioned him about the arc reactor...yet. He was positive the man felt it. The cold metal device that covered his heart and - no. He couldn't think like that. He had promised Rhodey he wouldn't. It just wasn't productive for him to dwell on it when he could be changing Stark Industries. Stopping weapons manufacturing had only been the first step, there was still a lot he needed to do.

He had reprieve in potions and care of magical creatures in the form of Phil Coulson and Clint Barton. The two were a strange tag team of seriousness and sarcastic humor that was somehow compatible. Within the first day too, that was the most surprising part. It was as if Barton was used to having serious companions as opposed to his own sarcastic nature. Tony vowed to show him the values of sarcastic buddies.

Transfiguration he wasn't too fond of if only for one thing: Rogers. The other boy's mere presence was enough to irritate Tony as he was constantly receiving adoring looks while the genius heir to the most well known corporation in both wizarding and muggle worlds was once more in the shadows. His only reprieve was that Phil had somehow managed to slip in with a Ravenclaw tie. How was beyond him as he was questioned by McGonnogall.

"Weren't you with the Hufflepuffs Mr..." She trailed off, apparently unable to remember his name.

"I don't know what you're talking about ma'am. I was sorted into Ravenclaw." Phil had said as if it was the truth, earning strange looks from everyone.

"Was he here this morning?" Cho Chang whispered to her friend from the back of the room.

"I think he looks familiar..." Her friend replied. McGonnagal thinned her lips for a moment before asking his name again, to which she got an honest answer. She left it alone after that. Tony just smirked at Phil before glancing at an entirely unconvinced Bruce, who apparently remembered last night but didn't say anything. Phil always had been good at being forgettable when it suited him. Steve seemed to be unable to decide what to do as the lesson continued. It was after the lesson ended that a meeting Tony had been both anticipating and dreading occurred.

"Tony Stark?" Steve asked after catching up with him. (Tony had tried to pull a Phil and be forgettable) The genius frowned and gave Phil a 'help me' look before plastering on a pleasant expression and turning around.

"Hey Capsicle. Nice to finally meet you." He said as the surrounding students seemed to stop to watch the meeting. Steve seemed momentarily stunned before collecting himself.

"Yeah, I've actually been eager to meet you. May I join you?" The captain asked after a moment. Tony's mouth twitched to frown. Of course, Steve didn't want to meet _him_ but _Howard's son._ If he wasn't used to it, he probably would have done something rash, like make some quip about the situation.

"Sure and I could tell you a little of what my father's been up to lately." Not that he didn't have a rash nature anyway. Phil gave him a 'look' while Bruce grimaced slightly.

"Sorry captain, but we don't have the same class next. Maybe later?" The future scientist asked in attempt to keep the peace as Phil shooed the other students away.

"Yeah..." The captain said, looking like a kicked puppy. Tony didn't spare him a second glance as he left. Classes were mostly silent after that, Phil tagging along for classes with Gryffindor and offering silent support when Steve was nearby.

 ***I had to put that quote in there. I just couldn't pass it up. You've probably noticed, but just to clarify: Tony has mixed feelings with Steve that he never properly dealt with. He does want to be his friend, but he's getting the wrong signals because of said feelings.**

 **I know I cut off a bit abruptly, but if I continued, I'd have to cover the flying lessons too, and that would be just too long.**

 **My logic for Tony's sorting: He belongs in Gryffindor (What else would be brave enough to fly a nuke through a wormhole) but didn't _want_ to be there as not only was Steve there, but he wouldn't have the resources Ravenclaw would give him either.**


	3. Chapter 3

The next thing of interest wasn't so interesting to Tony: Flying classes. They weren't bad per se, but they weren't interesting either. It wasn't like he had anything better to do anyway, that's why he was talking with Bruce about what they'd do with their project once it cooled down.

"I was thinking we could start with maybe...two vaults in response to the gamma shield?" Bruce was saying while Tony came up with his own thoughts.

"That might not be enough to trigger though. I was thinking dive in with twenty vaults. Jump start the energy compactor with enough gamma and the tiniest arc protector, effectively triggering an energy output that would be enough to sustain itself while the magic tried to remove it." He said thoughtfully, earning approving nods from some of the surrounding students and confused looks from others. He suspected the approving ones were just pretending to follow. It hadn't taken long to learn the Ravenclaws were very proud when it came to knowledge.

"I see where you're coming from, but if we jump-start it too much it could effectively become a time-bomb. Let's start at two vaults and steadily increase to see the reaction point." Bruce pointed out as he wrung his hands, apparently getting annoyed with Tony's stubbornness. Tony took a small glance around, hoping for inspiration in something, and noticed Clint crouched next to his broom, obviously eager to fly, while Phil was reading a book on something or other. Nothing helpful.

"But there won't _be_ a reaction point if the initial burst doesn't trigger something. Previous experiments showed that fifteen vaults was still insufficient to jump-start it, so add a few more and see what happens." Just as Bruce seemed to be about to respond the flying instructor appeared, something that seemed to annoy Bruce slightly. Tony dragged him over with a small comment on finishing later. While he was in the air Tony focused on how it felt, comparing it to his suit. Maybe if it wasn't for that he would enjoy it, but he'd take his suit over a broom any day as it was now. Of course the explosion nearly startled him out of the air, but he was able to stabilize himself somehow and take off with a small apology.

Without caring if he was in trouble or not, Tony ran to his makeshift lab in an unused classroom at full speed. He barely acknowledged Steve and Hill talking as he passed by them, intent on getting to his destination. When he arrived, he could honestly say he was amused, but not surprised to see Nick Fury already there with a Slytherin boy of Tony's age.

"Looks like you need a better place for your lab Stark." Nick said in greeting while the other boy gave him a strange look.

"Your lab? Interesting." The boy said before looking at the still smoking project. It was a prototype of a simple television. It looked like an older model of the muggle tv's with extra boxes here and there.

"Yup. Mine and Bruce's. What did you do to set it off?" He asked, scientific curiosity getting the better of him.

"Not much. I simply touched that part there." The boy said, pointing to one of the buttons. Tony took a deep breath and leaned into the smoke to get a better look at what was going on. It was at that moment that Bruce came in. He took one look around before his slight annoyance turned into full blown anger. He seemed to lose control of himself as he grabbed the other boy by the collar and slammed him against a wall, green swirling in his eyes.

" _What happened?_ " He seethed, causing a slight fear to appear in the boy's eyes.

"Doctor Banner." Nick said as he withdrew his wand, knowing the boy's reputation for anger management. Bruce glared slightly before practically throwing the boy on the floor with a slight snarl. Tony remained completely oblivious to this as he studied the tv.

"Hmm. Looks like the heat from the forging actually worked to power it, problem was it did it too much subsequently causing it to blow in reaction to the gamma shield being incomplete. How much was in it when we left it to cool?" He observed, unknowingly breaking the heavy tension. While the Slytherin boy tried to catch his breath after the assault with Nick's help, a suddenly curious Bruce made his way over to Tony, who was now coughing due to having forgotten he was still in the smoke.

"Not enough to cause that. Is it possible the magic turned pure heat into an energy source?" Bruce asked as he fanned away the smoke with his hand to get a better look. Tony pulled away and gave one last hack before answering.

"I had been researching that. It seems that temperature, when mixed with magic, _can_ have an affect on technology, but that would require extreme temperatures. Perhaps the untrained magic of the students in the castle has an affect?" He asked with a slight frown.

"Ahem." Tony turned quickly, having forgot Nick and the other boy were there in the first place, while Bruce tensed slightly before sighing in exasperation and turning around while running a hand through his hair.

"Er, sorry. I've got temper problems and seeing our hard work messed with..." Bruce trailed off as understanding appeared on the other boy's face.

"Quite alright. Lord knows how I get when my brother interrupts while I'm trying to perfect a spell. I'm Loki, by the way." The boy, Loki, said with a dismissive wave. Tony's face brightened up at that.

"So you're that type of person too, huh? I'm Tony Stark and this is my friend, Bruce Banner." He said as he extended his hand. Bruce looked at him oddly for a moment before smiling and joining the conversation. The three of them quickly became friends after that as Loki was invited to test some of the spells he knew in certain situations.* Nick Fury slipped out unnoticed as the three worked to clear out the room.

It wasn't long after that they separated for their respective classes and things continued as normal. Tony and Bruce exchanging notes when they got bored (they were both far ahead of the class) and Phil hopping into Ravenclaw when they were paired up with Gryffindor. A week later, the two scientists were once more working on their experiments when Maria Hill, a second year Griffindor, pulled Tony out for a moment. Tony followed her to find that Nick and Phil were both present, quickly coming to the conclusion it was about S.H.I.E.L.D when the four of them ducked into a hidden passage.

"What is it?" He asked when Nick set up some privacy charms.

"We've got a possible new recruit. Clint Barton could possibly help us to find Hawkeye as he has confessed to practicing archery." Maria said promptly. Tony's eyes immediately lit up at the familiar name.

"I've told him to contact you or Phil when he makes up his mind. Try not to get distracted if he comes to you." Nick followed up with a stern look. Tony gave a look of mock offense.

"Why would I get distracted? Sure we like to banter, but we can work together." He said solemnly, earning a hard look from Nick. Tony just rolled his eyes at that.

"Anyway, I found a possible candidate too. Bruce seems to have what it takes. Just got to word it right to get him in." The scientist continued. He truly wanted Bruce to work alongside him for S.H.I.E.L.D as the other boy had quickly managed to break Tony's walls and become one of the few people he called 'friend'...mostly because he didn't pry.

"Doctor Banner's reputation certainly does point to a good researcher. What do you think Director?" Hill asked as she turned to the man whom she already called boss. Nick took a moment to think about it. There were a few agonizing minutes of silence before the third year househopper spoke.

"Are you sure he could be trusted?" He asked, to which Tony couldn't nod fast enough. "Very well, we can talk to him about it now." Tony practically beemed when he heard that, quickly leading them back to the lab when Nick took the wards down. Bruce didn't look up when they entered, merely asking for a socket wrench assuming Tony was alone. Tony complied and waited for the muggleborn scientist to finish what he was doing. After a minute Bruce seemed to notice Tony wasn't working and looked up curiously, surprise clearly visible in his features when he saw the odd group assembled.

"Is something wrong?" He asked as he carefully set his work on the table he was working at.

"Got a question for you Bruce. If you had a chance to help a secret organization's research, what would you do?" Tony asked casually, though inside he was freaking out, hoping he wasn't driving away his friend. Bruce thought about it for a moment.

"Well, depending on what the organization did with the research I guess I'd be honored. Why?" He responded after a moment. Hill nodded in approval while Phil chose to continue.

"What would you want them to do with your research?" He asked, ignoring Bruce's question for now. Bruce now seemed more confused than ever as he looked between them.

"I guess I'd want them to put it towards stopping more dark wizards from rising. What's going on here?"

"Your being evaluated Dr. Banner. You see, we aren't your typical students. It is our hope to one day develop an organization that protects muggles and wizards alike. Mister Stark has agreed to both fund and do research for us. It is our hope that you become our second researcher." Nick said as he placed both hands on the table between them and Bruce. Tony watched as a number of emotions flickered across Bruce's face, hoping one of them would be acceptance.

"Who all is in?" He asked eventually, causing Tony's hopes to involuntarily rise.

"Currently our members include Director Fury, Phil Coulson, Tony Stark, Myself, and an invite has been reached out to Clint Barton and Steve Rogers." Maria said in a professional tone. It was somewhat amusing on the twelve year old, but Tony would admit she had it pretty good. By the time they were actually up and running she'd probably have the agent demeanor perfected. Perhaps there were perks to having ex-military parents.

"There aren't a lot at the moment I see. Suppose I accept, don't you think my temper would cause problems?" Bruce asked quietly, causing Tony to panic a little inside.

"You and I will be in the lab most the time. We'll mostly deal with other researchers." He said quickly. Bruce gave him a look.

"And where do you plan to find these 'other researchers'? Have you thought any of this out?" He asked, slight anger rising again.

"We are still in the early fazes of development. Our plan is to take multiple perspectives into account, but we don't plan to go public for a long time." Phil said from his spot at the door. Bruce seemed to relax at that assurance a little as he messaged his temple slightly. There was a long stretch of silence in which Tony actually worried the other wouldn't accept.

"All right, but I want to know everything you've got so far." He said after a while. Tony barely contained his joy as he gladly filled his friend in on the situation. Before long the two were reviewing the headquarters Tony had sketched out. After that, they spent some more time working on various projects, Loki later joining them. The day was spent in relative silence as they ran various tests.

A couple of weeks later, Tony and Bruce were in the library for more research. The experiments had actually been going much smoother sense Loki joined them, but there were still some kinks to sort out. Thus, they were spending lunch for research. At some point Phil, who was currently a Slytherin, had joined them.

"Perhaps it's not our start that's the problem, but the temperature. We'll have to find a charm to maintain a specific point." Bruce was saying. Tony nodded in understanding.

"The problem with that is the magic from the spell itself. We'd have to find a way to counter that." Bruce frowned at that.

"Then it looks like we're at a dead end. This one looked so promising too." The scientist complained. Phil frowned in thought.

"What if you tested the same thing in a less magical area and upgrade as the magic intensified?" He asked, earning surprised blinks from the two scientists. His just gave a slightly smug expression.

"That...could work. Think you could come to Stark Tower over the holidays Bruce?" Tony asked, his excitement rising with the second. Bruce seemed to mirror his feelings as he gave an enthusiastic 'yes'. The two were so engrossed in their discussion that they didn't notice a shadow approach them until Phil spoke.

"Evening, Clint." The two jumped and looked over at the other boy. He seemed completely terrified as he shot a glance at Bruce. Understandable if this was about what he thought it was.

"If this is about the offer than he already knows. Bruce has agreed to be one of our researchers." He said as a way of comfort as he waved it off.

"Clint? So you're the one they suspect could help find _him_." The other scientist whispered in greeting. Clint gave a small nod, but something in his eyes was off. They held a certain...something. Whatever it was, Tony was starting to get the impression this guy was holding secrets. It caused him to perk up slightly, but he didn't voice his new suspicions. It was probably just his paronia acting up again.

"I've...I've been thinking about it. If I'm going to help you find him, I want to know why we're searching." The boy spoke with rising determination. There was still something off though. His eyes...they held a certain...experience. Maybe that's what it was...experience. He couldn't be sure.

"It's a long story. We'll have to meet up tonight to tell. For now, lunch is ending." Of course, there had to be another explosion from his latest experiment at that point, causing him to take off. Why was it that happened around Barton most?

"Looks like we got an extra break, let's go." Bruce hurriedly stated as he was already practically out the door.

After dealing with that, Bruce drug Tony to his classes. Apparently skipping wasn't an option, no matter how much research he wanted to do. The day went rather uneventfully as the two worked on various projects. (Bruce caught Tony doing S.H.I.E.L.D research in charms)

Dinner was eventful however.

 _~Omake~_

"..." Tony felt Bruce's silent gaze on him as he had Loki test a new spell on their prototype computer. They were trying to make a hard drive at the moment.

"Well?" The mischievous spell-caster asked after he was done. Tony slowly activated the computer, not entirely surprised when it spluttered out.

"Progress." He muttered, already thinking what to do next. Loki's gaze flicked to Bruce for a moment.

"I think Bruce might have an idea." He pleasantly stated. Tony gave a small shrug.

"He'll tell when he's ready." Said scientist gave a small hum in agreement. Tony continued the experiment. After another failure, Bruce finally spoke.

"Tony?"

"Yes?" Said scientist distractedly asked as he tightened a bolt.

"When was the last time you ate?" The simple question caused Tony to freeze as he mentally went over the last week, trying to remember just that. Loki just gave a soft chuckle, causing Bruce to shift his narrow gaze onto him. "The same can be asked for you." The prankster abruptly stopped chuckling and left the room in a suspiciously casual way. Tony didn't notice however as he had returned to his experiment. He gave a small yelp as he felt a hand on the back of his shirt. He pouted as he was drug away.

 ***Remember, they're meeting under different circumstances. Right now Loki is just a mischievous Slytherin and Bruce has yet to fully Hulk out on everyone. It's just Tony who's in a similar position to cannon.**

 **Also, Loki is proven to be a genius in the magical field, so my logic is that they'd want his magical expertise to help Tony balance out his own in both fields and Bruce's in the muggle field. As for Loki, he's just curious about the muggle field.**

 **As for their banter, I unfortunately am not a gamma expert, so some (or all) of it may be inaccurate.**


End file.
